Weekend tinplate photos/Videos 2/1/18!!

And when there was rock

then became roll

and it was good...

picked up a parts frame for my 820 Derrick. Complete with trucks and couplers.

This thing is crying for three axle trucks but I don't see a way to make it happen.

and gave it a spot on the shelf just to see...fits by a cat's whisker!

Sweet crane. 

In Hafner's early years, they only made passenger sets. When they finally produced freight cars, they bought from Bing. These were normal Bing production, not tweaked for Hafner. They used their own locos and tenders. This set, headed by a 109 loco, is from 1924-26. A few years later, Hafner would create their own freight cars.

Steve

That is cooler than a snocone on the South Pole.

Yesterday the sun came out and while it was cold (just above freezing) I thought I have a run with my new BING clockwork locomotive I showed here last week:

Someone made a remark that the spring of a clockwork locomotive would get brittle at low temperatures; Well it did not break; I had never considered this as a possible problem. Someone more knowledgeable about clockwork knows?

Regards

Fred

I'm out of town for work this week so no trains for me.  Here are some from a few weeks ago after I had finally cleaned, re-wired, and installed trucks under a brown 2642/2643 1941 140w passenger set. It's shown next to the green set, 2640/2641.

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

In Hafner's early years, they only made passenger sets. When they finally produced freight cars, they bought from Bing. These were normal Bing production, not tweaked for Hafner. They used their own locos and tenders. This set, headed by a 109 loco, is from 1924-26. A few years later, Hafner would create their own freight cars.

Steve

Those little Bing cars are a favorite of mine.

Top three sets are post war tinplate passenger sets I have. Each has an extra passenger car. The rest are prewar tinplate the bottom being a actual passenger set with an extra passenger car also. A few cars are missing from the picture, Another 810 crane, a 815 tank car ( silver also ) and a red hopper car. 

Steamer posted:

This thing is crying for three axle trucks but I don't see a way to make it happen.

It can be done... problem is that it will not negotiate tighter curves....IIRC 0-72 is as tight as it'll go. BTW to use the modern vernacular, It looks "bit@#in" with 3 axle tracks.

1927 American Flyer Set 1X The Wolverine 

  Anyone who collects pre-war American Flyer knows about Flyer's willingness to change set contents to meet customer demands and they also know that it is fairly easy to find boxed sets whose contents don't agree with the catalog illustrations.

  It is my perception, which may be biased by the number of sets I happen to have from 1927, that many of the sets from 1927 seem to have had only a nodding acquaintance with the catalog descriptions.  Set 1X is one of those.  

As you can see from the catalog cut the set was supposed to have a single #1120 passenger car.  However, both of the boxed Wolverine sets I've seen for this set have two cars.  In both instances the baggage car was unmarked and the passenger car was a #1107 as opposed to the cataloged #1120.  My personal guess is that these sets were assembled to meet a customer demand.

My offering this week illustrates the process I often go through when I make additions to the collection.

This is a representation of an Ives Set #504 cataloged in 1927.

It started out when I added an Ives #3254 locomotive to the collection; just so I could have a representative of Ives equipment.  (You know where this is going.   )

I decided that the engine looked a little forlorn all by itself so I went to The Ives Train Society website to find out what cars this engine would have pulled.  It turns out that it pulled a passenger train of lithographed coaches in 1927.

The #130  Buffet

The #129 Saratoga Pullman

And the #132 Observation

They make a nice looking set.

I should never go doing "research" because I always find something interesting that I might have to have.  That is what happened this time. I discovered that from 1925 through 1928 Ives marketed a Baggage Express car that would go well with these cars.

This is the #131 Baggage - Express

So of course I had to add it to the consist of Set #504

They look great together, but in my opinion I think the locomotive looks a little small to be pulling cars of that length.  So, I grabbed a spare Ives tender that I have (fortunately it has brass journal covers to match) and an American Flyer Steam Engine #423) and put them together.  I like to play "They didn't make it this way, but if they had....".   I have a few postings like that on the other site.

And this is what I came up with:

No name for this"transition" set yet but I'm open to suggestions.

Have a Great Tinplate Weekend

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Steve: Those Bing/Haf freight cars are priceless! Fred's Bing clockwork is also very nice! Greg's Ives set is definitely the "cat's meow"! GREAT TRAINS, guys!

"Prof Northwoods Train that Shoulda Been Made"

Greg, why not the "Northwoods Express" ... this train looks really nice.

Nothing really new this week so some pictures of display cases at home, you will recognize some of the pieces  from previous posts.  A"little bit" of everything, Euro and US trains....

Have a great tinplate weekend,    Daniel

Daniel: TRIPLE WOW! 

Greg - I love your trains, and your style as well.  This is a great thread every week.  One more go round with my 384 with some nice round tops.  I love this girl. Quiet as a mouse, pull down your house, high steppin class act. I feel lucky to have such a nice engine.  Fun hobby.  Classic toy trains.  Fascinating actually with the history behind them.  I'm happy with my slice of it for now.  You guys do a great job of sharing your knowledge and passion.  Thanks from me for that.  Keep up the good work!  Cheers,  BK

Thanks Willliam1,

And thanks for the compliment.  I always enjoy your videos.  It reminds me that this is the way these trains were meant to be seen - running on the floor.  And btw, your hardwood floors make a beautiful canvas for the trains to strut their stuff.  I have considered that the next layout I have might be table height and have a section of reclaimed hardwood floor as its base.  I know I have seen photos of a layout like that somewhere on here.

This thread is so entertaining because of the willingness of all the participants to post the photos of their "toys", and to tell their stories.  I have learned a great deal from the folks here, and I have seen the tinplate hobby from many different perspectives. I could never participate in every approach, but I appreciate the fun that others have.  As I have said before, I get to enjoy the fun vicariously.  

I appreciate the dedication that Chris has in starting this thread each week.  I look forward to each Friday morning to the beginning of a new thread and the beginning of another vicarious adventure with Tinplate Trains.  Thanks Chris!

Have a great Tinplate Weekend

Northwoods Flyer

picked up a few new-to-me items this week.

Junior Bridge Company mailbox tunnel with lights.

The tunnel came with an H&H house and a Chein Glendale station

Plastimarx green caboose

Hafner Wyandotte 41021 from which it came

JeP SNCF 4-car passenger set

well look what rolled into town this week,yes a cmt original,the only ever made ,drop center flat car,,boom,,,,,,but wait ,there's more,,,i had a brain storm,,was looking at my af standard tender and noticed a slot in the coupler,,wait for it,,,,,yes,,,the cmt cars connect yeep !!!!!!!!!!!!!! a new consist

I got interested in tinplate because of standard gauge. Before that I had modern O gauge and before that G gauge. My first trains were HO, but all of those are gone except a bicentennial Spirit of 76 caboose. Lately, I have been getting more into tinplate O gauge. I have most of what I want in Standard gauge, and it takes up so much space! Over the years, I have bought some rough trains and restored or customized them to my liking. None of my restorations were to create a more valuable train, just to make it look better to me. One of my favorites is a blue Lionel 218 dump car; a color that Lionel never made. When I got it, the car was blue, but someone had done a very poor paint job. I liked the color and restored it in a more professional way, using that color.

My latest quest has been to acquire an O gauge American Flyer freight train. Some of you have such great American Flyer trains, and I was really inspired! My first task was to figure out where to start and what to get. AF made a lot of different size and scale trains. I bought Greenberg's guide, and it helped, but I found it more confusing than Lionel. I like the enameled cars with the 4 wheel trucks. I also liked the larger cars and decided to stay away from the 3/16" scale trains. I also like the 3000 series lithographed cars, but those looked pricey and seemed much more difficult to obtain. I settled on the 3300 series and have purchased a nice set of cars. I just need to get the tank car and maybe a log car. I also may add some duplicate cars depending on how big a consist the engine can pull. That leaves the engine. The engine was even more challenging for me to figure out. I finally settled on the 1681 Hudson. I saw one picture of it with the 3300 series cars that seem to indicate it is the right size. 

My next challenge was finding these in the right condition. I found some very rough pieces, which I considered restoring. Luckily, my experience told me to look for the missing parts, plates and decals first. That proved to be impossible. I am aware of about 6 major sources of tinplate parts in addition to eBay. None of them carried handrails, pilot trucks or even some of the necessary decals or plates. It seems AF prewar parts are much harder to obtain. I also considered buying extra cars and engines for parts, but decided the better approach was to find cars and an engine that did not require a complete restore.

I now have my engine on the way. The cars and engine will need a little work before they are presentable. (Why are all the used trains I buy so filthy and grimy?) Then, I will take pictures for everyone to see. 

George

Welcome aboard George!    American Flyer has many opportunities to build a collection, just be careful to set your limits and stick to them.

I think you will enjoy your purchase.

We will look forward to seeing the new additions to your railroad empire, and the work you do on the rolling stock.

Most importantly  -  Have Fun  

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Limits?     I must have missed that class!

George S - I can appreciate your approach.  I was thinking of starting a separate thread asking guys what their goals or ambitions are in the hobby.  I am sure it would be fascinating. Like I said before, I am happy with my slice, I'm running trains as I type. Nothing like ninety year old tin for background music.  As always, cheers,       BK

Well, Dennis as everyone knows limits do not have to be two sided. There are many processes that have only an upper or a lower limit - for instance, when it comes to trains, I only have a greatest lower limit of 0 for my total train count and I'm happy to report I'm no where near that spec.

Thank you guys for the comments. Here are a couple of pictures from the archives of that dump car. The shot on the track did not capture the color very well, but it shows the car completed with the gear. The other shot shows the color a little better. This blue is very light sensitive and can really light up and shine.

Also, notice the nicks on the frame. I did not paint the frame, because it was in pretty good shape. I did need to remove paint left on it from the old, terrible paint job. That black Lionel paint was very durable though, and the over paint came off without any damage to the original paint.

George

Here is a project I am working on today. I bought a Lionel 1719 box car with some other cars. It was missing its roof and a door. I polished it up. Boy these old trains are dirty!

I made this roof today from some .18 gauge hobby tin. The paint is still drying.

Here is the box car. It is also missing the ladders and a coupler. I won't replace the ladders, since the litho has them anyway. I will need to find a coupler, which should be easy.

Last week I created a cardboard door for the other side with photo paper and some cardboard. I think it will look OK.

George

Got this little af loco at the show in Houston today. also the crane

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

In Hafner's early years, they only made passenger sets. When they finally produced freight cars, they bought from Bing. ...

these early Hafner (Bing) cars are my favorite tiny freights.  although i have a few same-style PA cabooses the N.Y.C. & H.R. caboose still eludes me.  here are some other Bing and other small freights of the same ilk...

the apparently easier to find PA caboose, ...still a nice tail end car.

another version of the Peerless Tank with narrower set domes.

and another Hafner cataloged reefer, #7300 Swift, alongside a KBN (Bub) reefer.

CNJ and NYNH&H boxcars, both listed in the Hafner catalog...

and an Erie RR boxcar not listed by Hafner, but with the outside bracing graphics, it's a fantastic piece nonetheless.

and finally two mini-wreckers... on the left, a JDN (Distler) offering with an interesting directional frame (tab on one end, slot on the other) and on the right, a Bing wrecker listed as being offered by Hafner as a freight car add-on, but this one has the Euro-hook-type couplers not compatible with the US export models with simple tab/ slot couplers.

fun stuff...gary

hello i got new wheels for my McCoy tca wagon today now i can run it before it hand no wheels

kevin 

Here are a couple of the American Flyer cars with the Lionel cars I worked on. I didn't need to do anything to the 3207 gondola. I couldn't improve it's appearance much. It will need some wax eventually. The caboose needed cleaning and polishing. I also needed to do a minor repair on a handrail. The Lionel 1717 gondola had a very rusty frame, which I soaked in Evaporust, Dremeled and then repainted. The 1719 has my homemade roof installed.

The caboose has the pickup roller, but not the light socket. Will an S gauge socket work? I found an original, but the cost is half the price of the car! I can get a modern replacement for pennies, which should work and not be very noticeable.

George

I found a buddy for my af basket case,yes its still on the kitchen counter,slowing cleaning it up and seeing what it needs,,,,,anybody know what would or should go in those three holes on the top,thanks

terry hudon posted:

I found a buddy for my af basket case,yes its still on the kitchen counter,slowing cleaning it up and seeing what it needs,,,,,anybody know what would or should go in those three holes on the top,thanks

Here are two photos of  33xx locomotives.  The 3 holes in a row are for brass safety valves.

It looks as if there might be some variation in the other details along the top of your locomotive from those that I am showing.  The three holes would hold those brass valves.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Greg J. Turinetti posted:

terry hudon posted:

I found a buddy for my af basket case,yes its still on the kitchen counter,slowing cleaning it up and seeing what it needs,,,,,anybody know what would or should go in those three holes on the top,thanks

Here are two photos of  33xx locomotives.  The 3 holes in a row are for brass safety valves.

It looks as if there might be some variation in the other details along the top of your locomotive from those that I am showing.  The three holes would hold those brass valves.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

thanks  I will get to finding those,also,maybe getting used to it but my 1st thought was having it repainted but now not so sure has a very insteresting finish,not smooth,would hate to loose that ,those are sharp engines ,is the 1st one restored?

Here's my two projects I'm working on at present. Both frames show some oxidation so I'm going to sand prime and repaint black. but I'm scratching my head on the coupler in the lower left of the picture of my 814. How many times to you need to fold this back and forth to break this. I tried to just straighten it out one time and it broke but was obvious someone been bending it as it was almost straight down. 

rtraincollector posted:

Here's my two projects I'm working on at present. Both frames show some oxidation so I'm going to sand prime and repaint black. but I'm scratching my head on the coupler in the lower left of the picture of my 814. How many times to you need to fold this back and forth to break this. I tried to just straighten it out one time and it broke but was obvious someone been bending it as it was almost straight down. 

Those coupler parts are available. Try Hennings.

I ordered the complete couplers from Jeff instead of trying to put them back together , this way just have to install them. 

I also plan to repaint the frames as they show a little rust and also the boom. I'm not going to bother the cab or the boxcar piece as both them and there roofs look fine to me, not perfect but way better than any I would try to repaint. 

George S posted:

Here are a couple of the American Flyer cars with the Lionel cars I worked on. I didn't need to do anything to the 3207 gondola. I couldn't improve it's appearance much. It will need some wax eventually. The caboose needed cleaning and polishing. I also needed to do a minor repair on a handrail. The Lionel 1717 gondola had a very rusty frame, which I soaked in Evaporust, Dremeled and then repainted. The 1719 has my homemade roof installed.

The caboose has the pickup roller, but not the light socket. Will an S gauge socket work? I found an original, but the cost is half the price of the car! I can get a modern replacement for pennies, which should work and not be very noticeable.

George

those look great George

Steamer posted:

George S posted:

Here are a couple of the American Flyer cars with the Lionel cars I worked on. I didn't need to do anything to the 3207 gondola. I couldn't improve it's appearance much. It will need some wax eventually. The caboose needed cleaning and polishing. I also needed to do a minor repair on a handrail. The Lionel 1717 gondola had a very rusty frame, which I soaked in Evaporust, Dremeled and then repainted. The 1719 has my homemade roof installed.

The caboose has the pickup roller, but not the light socket. Will an S gauge socket work? I found an original, but the cost is half the price of the car! I can get a modern replacement for pennies, which should work and not be very noticeable.

George

those look great George

Thanks Dave!

Now to admit my mistakes...

Making the roof of the 1719 was difficult. I don't have metal bending tools; just a large carpenter's square, a heavy coat hanger metal rod and some pliers. I think it came out oK, but I was ambitious in bending the rib along the top of the roof. The rib line is off center, and I cut the top about 1/16" too short. The last mistake was being impatient with the paint. I should have washed the tin first, then I installed it while the paint was a little tacky. If you look at the right angle, you can see the paint has an imperfection caused by a paper towel I was using to try to protect the paint. I should have waited or dampened the paper towel. Next time I do this type of work, I will chant my self-advice, "Patience George; go slow; take your time."

Anyway, it is an imperfect car in other ways with the cardboard door on one side. It still looks better than many I see on eBay. 

George